We're a Trainwreck Waiting to Happen
by lipstickdisaster
Summary: Five times Taylor knows that she and Chad are not meant for each other and one time she wishes they were.


**A/N: So, yes, about this fic… I've been wanting to see more fic about Taylor, because she's a severely underrated character in this fandom, and I've always found the juxtaposition between Troy and Gabriella's everlasting romance and Chad and Taylor's more casual relationship very interesting, so I thought I'd explore the notion that Chad and Taylor have a relationship that's doomed to fail. And then, well, this happened.**

 **I hope you enjoy! Kudos and comments are much appreciated, and as always, you can find me on Tumblr at gabriellabolton (my main blog) and bisexualsharpay (my HSM sideblog).**

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 **i.**

"Is this the first time you got detention?"

Taylor scowls as she turns around and to face a smirking Chad Danforth.

She's embarrassed enough as it is that she got detention – he's right; it _is_ the first time it's ever happened and it's mortifying –, so she doesn't need him to rub it in.

Especially because it was technically because of him.

Of course it isn't directly his fault, since she only got detention since she was the one who made a snide remark about him, but it's still easier to blame him than blame herself.

He's just so _infuriating_ , with his shallow and brash attitude, and his carelessness, and his complete lack of respect for anyone who isn't as popular he is.

And that stupid basketball that he carries everywhere.

Taylor is only human – she can only take so much of his idiocy before she snaps. Or makes a smartass comment about his lack of intelligence.

So, to see him so satisfied with this unfathomable blemish on her perfect record, she thinks she might reach breaking point again.

"It is," she snaps at him, before turning back to face the front and read the notes on the chalkboard.

"And over something so stupid," Chad laughs behind her, and Taylor purses her lips and continues to furiously scribble down notes. "I mean, you were trying to say _I_ was stupid, yet you're the one who got detention over basically nothing."

She knows he can hear her breathing grow heavier with rage, but she doesn't give in.

"It's a historic day for East High, don't you think? Taylor McKessie, our resident Goody Two-Shoes, finally gets detention," Chad continues wistfully, and she can't keep it in anymore.

Furiously, she turns in her chair again, glowering at him as he just smirks at her, portraying a picture of relaxation as he sits back in his chair with his hands on the back of his head.

"At least I'm not in detention every week. And half of the time, that's over less than what I did today, because you've made nearly every teacher hate you," she hisses.

Chad glares at her as he moves forward. "I do not get into detention every week, McKessie. And when I do, it's usually because I played a brilliant prank."

"Yes, putting a frog in Sharpay Evans' purse is so original, it blows my mind," she retorts. "And you didn't get detention over some elaborate scheme today, did you?"

She smiles triumphantly for a second, before grimacing again as she remembers her own reason for getting detention. He's right – it's so lame.

Shaking her head, she mutters under her breath, "So stupid."

Chad seems to have heard it, because he squints at her for a second, before his face softens.

"Hey, it's only fifteen minutes, it's no big deal."

It _is_ a big deal to her. To him, it might be nothing, but to her, it's highly embarrassing at best and destructive at worst. He wouldn't understand how much her record means to her, because he doesn't care about his at all.

Before she can respond, though, the smirk reappears on his face as he whispers, "Better turn around, though. You don't want to get caught not paying attention and getting more detention, do you?"

She rolls her eyes and returns his smile – beneath all the jabs, both know they don't mean each other harm –, before turning back to the front.

A few minutes later, she can't help but glance backwards again, seeing Chad doodle absentmindedly in his notebook, and she shakes her head.

She will never understand why everyone seems to treat Chad Danforth and his fellow lunkhead basketball boys as if they're gods on earth.

There's nothing special about him. And she, for one, will never fall for Chad Danforth's apparent charms.

She's too dignified for that.

 **ii.**

If you told Taylor a couple of days ago that she'd ever be getting along with Chad Danforth, she would have laughed in your face and then probably thrown up at the mere thought. Yet that is exactly what is happening right now.

It's been a strange week.

"Mission accomplished!" Chad exclaims as she walks up to him, a broad grin on his face as he hands her back the laptop.

She had been surprised when Chad had asked her for her help, and when he had been genuinely nice to her, but she can't deny that she likes this change in their relationship.

She likes being on the same side for once. Beneath his loud and goofy exterior, he's actually quite friendly, and she enjoys how peaceful she feels when she doesn't have the need to hurl insults at him.

That doesn't make him any less infuriating, though. Even though this whole thing was originally his plan, he still seems incapable of taking anything seriously. All he has done today is act like he's in a spy movie, while this plan of his was no joke.

They have schemed to ruin a friendship. A friendship that was comprised of two people they care about.

And Taylor has to admit she doesn't feel as good about it anymore as she did when Chad came up to her yesterday.

She has seen the tears glisten in Gabriella's eyes when she listened to Troy's terrible words and she wonders if it really was the right thing to do, to rile both of them up like that.

Chad wouldn't understand her having second thoughts, though, she reckons. He probably hasn't seen Troy upset yet and maybe he won't at all.

And she knows what he'll say if she brings it up – he will tell her that this is for the best. And he will be right, she supposes.

She doesn't care about the social hierarchy of East High or the performance of the basketball team in the way that Chad does, but she _does_ care about the scholastic decathlon.

And, even though she has only known Gabriella for a week, she cares about her, too. Gabriella's brilliance is something that needs to be displayed to the world – and if it gives Taylor's team a win for once, then it's only for the better –, and Gabriella deserves better than to be caught up with someone like Troy Bolton, who would be so easily persuaded to say she's nothing to him.

She knows Chad feels about Troy the way she does about Gabriella. Even though Taylor fails to see any value to successfully throwing a ball into a basket, she knows that Chad also just wants Troy and, by extension, the rest of their team to strive to be the best they can be.

Chad is right – what they're doing is good. They're saving their friends from themselves. And they're both getting something for themselves in the process as well.

It's strange, Taylor thinks. Even though their attitudes to life are utterly incompatible, they're not as different as she would have thought – both cunning, both deeply dedicated to their respective teams, both adamant to keep their friends from the wrong path.

"So," Chad speaks up again, suddenly a little awkward as he shoves his hands into his pockets. "I guess this is it."

She sees something akin to regret in his eyes, and it makes her wonder, but she doesn't dwell on it, instead just smiling at him as she holds her hand out for him to shake.

"It's been a pleasure working with you," she says, and Chad's perpetual grin returns as he shakes her hand firmly.

"It's been fun," he agrees. "You were an excellent Charlie's Angel."

And, with that, she's reminded again of why she normally doesn't get along with him.

Grimacing, she hisses, "For the seventh time, we are not Charlie's Angels, Danforth."

He rolls his eyes. "Party pooper."

She hears the underlying tone of teasing in his voice, so she just shakes her head and waves before walking off.

They may not be as different as they seem, but they could never be truly friends.

They would infuriate each other too much.

 **iii.**

Taylor admittedly has never had much of a social life. At least, not in the sense that most kids her age would define it.

Her ideal evening is curling up on the couch with homework or a good book, not going out to a party and probably getting involved in criminal activity.

So, being at the Wildcats championship after party, Taylor definitely feels somewhat like a fish out of the water.

Especially since she's here as Chad Danforth's date.

Her gut had been right about the scheme that she and Chad had set up – it had worked out terribly and had not done them any favours. Instead of realizing that their interest in music was silly and non-sensical, both Troy and Gabriella had become miserable after the mishap.

As such, Chad and Taylor's shenanigans and unlikely amiability hadn't ended after all. In fact, after they fixed their mistake, they even grew closer and became something akin to friends.

Still, she hadn't thought that newly formed friendship would somehow evolve into a date. And she really hadn't thought she'd be excited about it and she'd experience the fluttering she felt as he asked her out after the game earlier today.

She's now wondering if she made a mistake, though.

Watching as Chad tears up the dancefloor with his goofy dance moves, she just shakes her head and takes a sip from her thankfully not-spiked punch. At least it's a good thing that the party is chaperoned by Coach Bolton and his wife.

Is this what being with Chad would be like? One of them standing off to the side, feeling awkward and out of place, while the other engages in an interest that they do not share?

That is not a good foundation for a lasting relationship.

Looking to her left, she watches Gabriella and Troy, standing together a little too close for comfort - enjoying themselves together and not spending the night apart like she and Chad are -, and she waves Gabriella off as she catches her gaze and tries to remove herself from Troy's grip to come over to hold her company.

At least Gabriella is having fun with her date. Taylor doesn't want to take that away from her.

As her gaze moves to her right, Taylor sees some of her other friends from the scholastic decathlon in a heated conversation about god-knows-what. Pushing herself off the wall, she decides to join them.

She might as well _try_ to enjoy herself.

However, as she starts to walk off, she suddenly feels a hand on her wrist. As she looks up, she meets Chad's dark gaze and raises her eyebrows as Chad silently stares at her, heaving from the intense work-out dancing has proven to be.

"Do you want to dance?" he asks, and Taylor glances at the dancefloor over his shoulder as she purses her lips and contemplates his question.

It might be fun. And she did want to spend more time with Chad.

She also isn't very great at dancing and being the centre of attention for anything that isn't related to school. She'd much rather just have a fun conversation than make a fool out herself.

"Come on," Chad insists as she doesn't answer. "It'll be just one song and then we can find a quiet place to hang out, just the two of us. And I promise I won't judge."

When he pouts at her rather adorably, she smiles and rolls her eyes playfully. "Fine. One song."

Of course, it ends up being much more than one song. And she can't even say she doesn't enjoy letting herself get lost in the music and Chad's silliness.

Chad keeps to his promise, too – when they get tired, he takes her hand, leads her to the swings in the Boltons' backyard and asks her to tell him more about herself.

It's a pleasant conversation, where they actually get to know each other, from silly things like their respective favourite colours – Chad's is red, of course, while Taylor's is purple – to serious matters like their dreams for the future – a career in sports and a career in politics, respectively.

As Taylor has always known, they're not much alike on the surface, with different interests and different personalities. However, she also learns that they're quite similar on the inside, with similar dedication to their interests and loved ones, and a similar tenacity.

Even though them both being headstrong is what got them in this rivalry in the first place, she decides she kind of likes having someone who understands and challenges her stubbornness.

So, even though she knows they're not a perfect match, she still says yes when he asks her out on a second date.

And when he drops her off at her house at the end of the night, she feels warm inside when they hug each other goodbye.

"Did you enjoy the party?" he asks as he pulls away and Taylor bites her lip as she feels a blush rise to her cheeks.

She is afraid to admit that she still prefers a quiet night in, but she can't deny that this wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.

And, if she had to be really honest, she did have fun.

"Yes," she admits, before raising her eyebrows challengingly, "But the next date is on my terms."

Chad sighs as he shoves his hands in his pockets, before nodding begrudgingly. "Can't wait to see what nerdy activity you have planned."

He laughs as she sticks out her tongue, before dropping a quick peck on her cheek and making his way off her porch.

And even though Taylor knows they probably won't work out, she blows him a kiss goodnight.

 **iv.**

If there's anything Taylor has learned this summer, it is that her sister's boy rules are always relevant. However, she's also learned that not everything is always black and white.

Watching her best friend get her heart broken by a boy who got caught up with the wrong people, she should be cursing men as the bane of women's existence. Yet, as she watches a newly reunited Gabriella and Troy kiss on the top of the hill, she knows that her best friend is happier with that stupid boy by her side.

She also knows that she herself is happy with a stupid boy by her side.

Her laughter ceasing as Chad stops spinning her around, she can't erase the huge grin that is adorning her face as she quickly kisses him.

"I can't believe summer is really over," Chad sighs as they pull away from each other and Taylor offers him a sympathetic smile as she squeezes his shoulders in comfort.

She knows that Chad had been looking forward to a fun and carefree summer. And they had deserved one, now more than ever, since this was the last summer before senior year. Then they had been hired at the country club owned by the Evans family and everything had gone a little sideways.

"I know," she says sadly, "Now things are really going to become hard. SATs, college applications..."

Chad smiles as he shrugs. "I don't really care about that stuff."

Taylor's eyebrows furrow as she takes her hands off his shoulder. "What do you mean, you don't really care about that?"

Chad has never been secretive about dreaming about a career path that is just as resolute and ambitious as hers is. He's going to go to the University of Albuquerque and play for the Redhawks – it's not the best school out there, and she thinks he could do better, but she understands his love for the Redhawks. Then he's going to be scouted by the NBA and become one of those overpaid, overconfident professional sportsmen that she used to feel so much disdain for.

Even though his desired career path couldn't be more different from hers – she wishes to get into Yale and then climb the political ladder and hopefully become the president of the United States –, she knows that his is not to be underestimated. It's difficult to achieve success and fame in any capacity and he will really have to work for it.

Chad shrugs again as he averts his gaze from hers. "I want a basketball scholarship, and I need to be good at basketball for that, not at math like you and Gabriella."

Taylor shakes her head in disappointment. "Yeah, you need to be good at basketball, but every little bit helps. I mean, look at Troy! He almost got a scholarship just for singing with Sharpay. Scholarships are hard to come by, so you need to do everything you can."

Chad sighs and then stays quiet for a moment before chuckling incredulously. "You sound like Coach Bolton right now."

Taylor rolls her eyes as she playfully punches him in the shoulder. "I'm just trying to look out for you, Danforth."

This makes Chad refocus his gaze on Taylor, and he smiles at her lopsidedly, in that way that makes her stomach flip.

"I really appreciate it, I do," he tells her earnestly, before sighing again. "But I just don't want my senior year to be only about grades and college, you know."

As Taylor opens her mouth to protest – it's _important_ –, he shakes his head and gestures around to the rest of their friends, who seem to have settled down on the grass like them. "We don't have much time left… you know, with all of us, and I just want to appreciate it, live in the moment."

This makes Taylor think.

He's right. This is really the last year they will spend with all of them together. It's the last year that she and Chad will spend together. Neither of them has voiced it yet, but both know that they're not going to stay together when she inevitably goes off to the other side of country while he stays here.

And while school is the most important thing for her, she understands why Chad would prioritize the people around him.

"So, please, can we just enjoy being together?" he asks, almost begging, and Taylor smiles as she nods before hugging him as they fall into a comfortable silence.

"You know what else we're going to have in senior year?" Chad breaks the silence after a while, grinning mischievously. "Prom. Maybe I'll ask you to go with me."

Taylor returns his grin, a twinkle in her eye as she flirtatiously tells him, "Better be a good proposal."

"You know it will be."

Somehow, she doubts that, but she doesn't tell him as she silently stays snuggled in his arms and contemplates the upcoming year.

No matter how differently they feel about what will be important, she knows one thing – it's going to be interesting, and it's going to be great.

 **v.**

"So, did you like your promposal this time?"

Taylor knows that Chad's words are just in jest, that he's joking. Yet she recognizes a hint of bitterness in his voice and she sees an irritated glint in his narrowed eyes.

Playfully rolling her eyes, she nods. "Yes, Chad, it was great."

She can't deny that she feels slightly guilty for the way she's treated him after his first promposal, the one that went terribly wrong, but she stands by her reasons for rejecting him so harshly.

The most obvious reason is that she deserves better than this. She might have always acted like she doesn't care about frivolous social events, but she's also a teenage girl and prom is one of the most memorable events of one's high school career.

Therefore, she's been dropping hints to Chad that he should put in some effort instead of putting on his usual nonchalant, cool act. She was sure that he was picking them up too, always responding with a glare or a roll of his eyes or an aggravated mumble under his breath.

And then he tried to ask her by making a lame comment about his tuxedo.

She has more self-worth than to say yes to such a careless promposal. She also likes Chad more than that than to accept this lack of effort.

During their relationship, she has accepted more than enough of his flaws, but she refuses to accept that he can't improve as a person.

"What?" Chad snaps her out of her thoughts, and Taylor blinks as she realizes she's zoned out for a while.

Looking up at him, she smiles tenderly. "Hey, you know that I didn't mean to upset you, right?"

Chad purses his lips before a moment, before sighing. "Yeah, I do. But you deserved better."

"Well, yeah, I did," Taylor admits. "But I also thought you can do better. And you did."

He really did. When he asked her in front of the entire cafeteria a couple of hours ago, she was over the moon. He made her feel special, and in her eyes, that's what a promposal is all about.

She's pretty sure Chad is blushing as he turns away from her. "Well, I'm glad you liked it. Sorry I was such an idiot before, I'm not good at this whole romance thing."

Taylor looks down at the flowers that she's holding and shakes her head before smiling up at him. "I think you're pretty good at it, actually. You just need to put in a little effort."

Chad sighs in aggravation, before shaking his head. "Not this again."

Taylor purses her lips in annoyance. She knows she's been badgering him about this for a while now, but she really is convinced that he could and should do better than what he's doing now.

It's strange, and slightly annoying, how little effort he puts into things like romance and school, while he's capable of putting his full dedication into basketball.

There's no reason he couldn't do that for all of those things.

But, by now, she knows Chad. She knows that if something doesn't interest him enough, or it's different from what he's used to – he really is terrified of change –, he doesn't care to dedicate time or effort. However, she also knows how much dedication he puts into the things he does care about, and he could do so much better at other things if he just tried.

"I'm just trying to help," she reminds him gently, careful not to sound too patronizing, but she feels guilty as she registers the vulnerable look in his eyes.

"I know you mean well, but it doesn't make me feel very great about myself," he admits, a little more quietly than she's used to from him, and Taylor doesn't know what to do other than hug him.

He's right. She can be condescending, that's something that she should work on. If she wants him to grow as a person, she should be prepared to improve herself, too.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, feeling a little better as Chad starts to rub her back soothingly.

"It's okay," he whispers back. "I just don't care about the same stuff that you do."

As Taylor opens her mouth to apologize again, he puts her finger before her mouth. "You were right about my promposal, though. Because I do care about you and I should have showed you."

"Well, I shouldn't be too harsh on you," Taylor retorts, and Chad merely smiles in response as he pulls her tighter.

"Maybe," he agrees, laughing as Taylor pokes his stomach in response.

As his laughter dies down, he gazes at silently for a moment, before telling her, "I'm really glad you're going to prom with me."

"Ditto," Taylor responds, feeling her cheeks heat up with a blush.

She knows that this won't be the last time they'll be at odds as they both try to learn and grow from their mistakes. She knows that the combination of his lack of effort and her tendency to be condescending will only cause trouble. It will only cause them to crash and burn.

But for now, she pushes that to the back of her mind. Maybe it won't work out tomorrow, but it worked out today, and that's good enough for now.

 **i.**

"This is really it, huh?"

Taylor blinks and feels a pang to her heart as Chad utters those horrible words. Looking up from her suitcase to where the other side of her room, where he's holding a framed photograph of the gang, she musters a sad smile.

"I guess it is," she agrees, as she closes the suitcase and sits down on her bed in defeat.

She has known this day has been coming for a while. She has been excited for it mostly, to start anew and to grasp new opportunities, but now she almost dreads it.

She has never thought herself to be the person to be sad that high school is over, with her low position on the social ladder and her ambitions for college and beyond, but she also never thought she would make so many friends with so many backgrounds.

And, because of their diverse interests and backgrounds, they're now splitting up and going off to places all over the country. She's going to Yale, while Troy and Gabriella are off to Berkeley and Stanford, and Ryan and Kelsi are moving to New York to go to Juilliard. Zeke is going to attend culinary school, and Jason… who even knows what Jason is going to do.

And Chad… Chad is going to stay here. He's going to his dream school, play for his dream team and hopefully start a career in professional sports.

Even though she knows he's disappointed that it's not going to be exactly like he's imagined it after Troy deferred his scholarship to U of A, but Taylor couldn't be happier for him.

She's happy for all of them, she truly is. She's just going to miss all of them. And especially Chad.

Hearing some rustling, she suddenly feels a strong arm wrap around her shoulder as she sinks into Chad's embrace.

"Shhh, it's going to be okay," he says comfortingly, and it's only then that Taylor notices that she's been crying.

Feeling an embarrassed blush come on, she quickly wipes her tears. "I know. I'm just really going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too," he mumbles quietly, squeezing her shoulder. "But we've always known that this would happen."

It's true. It has been inevitable, an unspoken truth hanging between them since they first started dating. They're too different, their life goals are incompatible. It wouldn't last.

That doesn't mean that this break-up isn't going to be any less difficult or unfair.

A silence befalls them for a moment as they just sit together, revelling in what will probably be the last time they hold each other.

However, after a few minutes, Chad suddenly starts chuckling. Taylor's eyebrows furrow as she lifts her head from his chest and stares into his eyes questioningly.

"Who would have thought that you would be the first person to really break my heart?" he explains, and Taylor can't help but burst in giggles through her tears too as she nods vigorously and lays her head against his chest again.

She certainly hasn't imagined finishing high school by breaking up with Chad Danforth either.

After a moment of giggling together, Chad's laughter suddenly ceases as he grows serious, putting his hand on her chin and lifting it up so their eyes are locked. "You were a lot of firsts for me. I won't ever forget it."

A bashful smile blossoms on Taylor's face as she remembers some of the firsts. However, there is one that stands out.

First love.

"Ditto," she murmurs, before reaching up to place a sweet kiss on her mouth in the hopes that it will convey the depth of her feelings.

She's going to miss kissing him.

As she pulls away, she raises her eyebrows tauntingly as she playfully pokes his stomach. "Look at you being romantic."

Chad rolls his eyes in response, before kissing the top of her head and pulling her closer as she wraps both of her arms around his torso.

They stay still in their embrace for a little while longer, before Taylor feels Chad pulling away from her. With a sound of disagreement, she grabs onto him more tightly.

"Stay."

Chad let out a breath, before relaxing into their embrace again, and she sighs in contentment.

She knows they're just delaying the inevitable, but she doesn't care.

For just this little while, she pretends that this isn't the end of road. For just this while, she wishes that they were forever.


End file.
